Starting in the early 17th century, entertainers called "geisha" provided services to patrons at specialized restaurants in Edo. The first geisha were men, but woman soon dominated the profession, trained in the traditional arts of singing, dancing, conversation and companionship. Typically, geisha did not provide sexual services to their clients, as that was the province of courtesans.
IMAGE CREDITS Top: Geisha entertain clients/National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden
Left: Geisha/Tokaido Hiroshige MuseumRight: Geisha/Goldfarb-PlugIn